The Sun. — London, England, 1838-06-15 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. At the present period of the Session, and in the existing slate of public business, we cannot think that Colonel Davies last night very profitably employed the time of the House of Commons on a motion for a Committee to re-consider the determination, not only come to, but extensively acted upon, regarding the site of the projected new Ho uses o f P ar li ament . After nearly three hours discussion, it was negatived by a large majority. The proposition of Mr. Wyse on the subject of national education and the appointment of a Board to super intend it, was nearly carried, partly by the accidental absence of Ministerial supporters, and partly by the purposed seces sion of a large number of Tories, in the hope that Govern ment might thus be placed in a situation of temporary diffi culty. Mr. Co!quilt:tun and Sir Robert Inglis are known to have spoken the sentiments of the great body of the Opposi tion when they warmly resisted the motion, but, nevertheless, very few Members on that side of the House were present at the division. Much as they profess themselves ini mical to Commissions (not of their own appoint rent), they were anxious to sec one, in this in stance, forced upon Ministers, by the adoption of the Address to the Crown recommended by Mr. Wyse. We say this without reference to the merits of the qnestion, upon which difference of opinion may, of course, conscientiously exist ; the most zealous friend of the education and moral im paovernentof the lower orders may very reasonably object to the particular mode in which the Hon. Member for Waterford suggested that it should be promoted. Nobody will think of denying for an instant that Lord John Russell is as sincerely disposed as Mr. Slaney or Dr. Lushington to do all that lies in the power of Government to accomplish an end so desirable, yet his Lordship found himself obliged to speak and vote against the proposition of Mr. Wyse. He admitted, in ac cordance with the address of the Grand Jury of Durham re ferred to by Mr. Hume, that there was an intimate connection betweenignorance eod crime; but he gravely doubted how far the appointment of % Board, under present circumstances, would be advantageous in removing ignorance and lessening crime. He apprehended (and the Chancellor of the Exchqeuer even more strongly expressed the opinion) that the sectarian differences at this time so materially interfering with the progress of education, and animating the two bodies, the National School Society and the British and Foreign School Society, would gradually disappear; and already he observed symptoms fa vourable to the ultimate union of both in the great object of education. This approximation he feared would be retarded by the nomination of a Board to superintend the exertions of the Societies, which Board could not yet be composed of materials acceptable to all religious denominations. His 1 Lordship was therefore in favour of delay, willingly under taking, to the mean time, to lose no opportunity, and to spare no means of improving the moral and mental condition of the lower orders in all parts of the kingdom. With refe rence to the fund for this purpose now at the disposal of the Treasury, Dr. Lushington and Mr. Baines reasonably re monstrated against the present mode of distribution. It was the practice, whenever a certain sum was subscribed for the purpose of education in a particular district, to add to it as much more from the money voted by Parliament. Now, in situations where instruction was most wanted, the inhabitants wore generally the poorest, and were, therefore, least able to raise an amount to be doubled by a grant from the Treasury. Thus, those who were in the lowest condition as to circum stances and information were, perhaps, totally neglected. Lord John Russell at once admitted the justness of the com plaint, and promised to do his utmost to remedy the evil, though the Chancellor of the Exchequer pointed out with clearness the difficulty of adopting a new rule, lost those places which had been in the habit of raising considerable funds should desist from any reliance upon their own resources, and depend solely upon the supplies they hoped to obtain from Government. Lord John Russell was decidedly in favour of schools for the education of teachers (also contemplated by the motion of Mr. Wyse), and enforced the necessity of doing every thing that tended to raise the character as well as to increase the emoluments of schoolmasters. For this purpose he thought that some addition ought to be made to the salaries they might be allowed instructors, after they had themselves gone through the process of education. This was the more necessary from the consideration that after they had been well educated the teachers would be anxious rather to embark in a more promising and profitable profession, unless some additional inducement were held out to them in the same of pecuniary advantage. " The occupation of an instructor of youth," said his Lordship, with warmth, "is one of the noblest and the most important in so. ciety, and we ought to do our utmost to render its emoluments proportionate to its honours." We regret that the speech of Mr. Wyse, which appeared to be full of various and interest ing information, was only imperfectly heard. The answer to it by Mr. Colquhoun was remarkable for the narrow ness of its sectarian views ; but when the Honourable Gentleman was charged with having delivered sentiments almost peculiar to a sect, Sir Robert Inglis absolutely fired up, and treated it as a most serious imputation that a member of the Church of England should be accused of showing symptoms of attachment to a sect. He took an exceedingly high tone when he spoke of " the power of the Church and of the weakness of the Dissenters," and called upon the House to judge between them by a comparison of numbers— a teat to which the party is naturally fond of appealing. " I demand for the Church," exclaimed Sir R. Inglis, " the right of being considered the first estate of the realm ; and when the Honourable Member ventures to call that Church a sect, it is my duty to rise in my place and claim for it the rank which belongs to it l" As Mr. Wyse persisted in taking the sense of the House, on a division the numbers were 70 to 74. Mr. O'Connell's notice respecting female apprentices in the West Indies- stood next on the paper, but as it was near mid night before the debate on Mr. Wyse's Address terminated, he postponed it, and stated that on Tuesday next he would name the day when he would bring it forward.—Morning Chronicle. In yesterday's Times there appeared an article which well deserved that public attention should have been drawn to it, and which we vow deem it right to notice, however briefly, before a reference to the paper which contained it becomes difficult or irksome through the lapse of time. The statement in question was headed " Expulsion of the Tyrolean Protes tants." Althoagh this cruel transaction took place in the course of last September, there is no unfitness in publishing, or remarking on it, at the present hour, because it was direct part and parcel of a system which commenced (or recom menced) long previously, and is still likely to continue in full and inexorable activity. The oppression, ending in the ex pulsion from their country, of the Tyrolean Protestants who inhabited the valley of the Ziller, was the work, we need hardly say, of the Romish priesthood, engaging, for tools of their persecuting tyranny, a portion of that landed interest which knows how to make itself felt by the Court of Vienna. The conversion of this virtuous race to Protestantistn is ac counted for by their habit of wandering beyond their own frontier in pursuit of an humble traffic, which threw them in th e way of foreign Protestants, and pla ce d many Bibles in their hands, as well as tracts upon religion. No wonder that this in the valley of the Ziller should be deemed an offence no less heinous and unpardonable than it has been considered among the wilds of Connaught, or that the M'Hales of the Tyrol, like him of Tuam, should visit it with a memorable vengeance. The feeble and priest-ridden Government of Austria, per suaded by its Papal hierarchs that the freedom of thought and character which belongs to Protestantism must be dangerous to arbitrary power, first upheld the priests in their vindictive cruelties to these conscientious men, in the refusal to them of the sacred rites of baptism, burial, and marriage, and when all modes of domestic barbarity were exhausted, finished by commanding them to sacrifice their faith, or to abandon their native country. Pious and Christian as at heart they were, those Tyrolean peasants, in number between 400 and 500 in dividuals, became mar tyrs rather than apostates. With the sums realised by the sale of their little possessions, they quitted the dominions of Austria for ever—that ungrateful Austria, for which they had bled in successive battles against the forces of Bavaria and of France combined, when the regular armies of the Imperial Government had dispersed or perished. The progress of the exiled' Protestants from the land whence they were expelled to that wherein they experienced a generous reception, and found once more a paternal home, was one un. interrupted triumph. The sympathies of mankind were with them. The houses and arms of all Protestants, from the Tyrol to the Prussian territory, were opened to them, and they were tinally settled near the town of Sehmiedeberg, in Silesie, by authority and under the cordial protection of the present King of Prussia, whose heart is no less thoroughly and fearlessly Protestant than was that of George 111. Do not let unreflecting readers flatter themselves that the odious pro ceeding here alluded to was an isolated instance of Romish persecution and hatred of the Protestant religion. It was no such thing. It was a link in that long chain of evi dence which proves that Popery is now what it ever has been ; that knowledge spreads not for the Papist, and that civilization fruitlessly for him extends her empire. What has happened in the Tyrol is but another specimen of that spirit which has just provoked the all but unanimous cry of large Swiss communities against the Jesuits. The expulsion of Ty rolean Protestants by the Romish priesthood is but the proto type of another expulsion, not yet recorded, but deeply medi tated, and to be recorded by-and-bye—an expulsion not yet, perhaps, in " esse," but in something more than "posse"— one which will as surely be as Popery is allowed to flourish_ we mean the persecution, the reduction to misery and ultimate expulsion from his native soil, of every Protestant who dares resist the temporal supremacy of the Church of Rome in Ire land. There is not an arbitrary act or attempt of the priest hood in A ustrir, Switzerland, Belgium, Prussia, or any where else within the reach of the Sovereign Pontiff's ec clesiastical runners, which does not bespeak art entire identity of moti ve , end, and spirit, with those which cha racterise the outpourings of M'Hale, arid direct the whole policy and progress of Maynooth. It is ON F.—temporal Po pery is everywhere ONR—a one and indivisible monster. By some strange catenation of blundering fatalities, which will seem inexplicable or incredible hereafter, not only have Irish Popery and le's - ti democracy embarked in the same adventure, but, what is by far more wonderful, numbers of intelligent and observant Englishmen appear to have been more or less imPesed upon by this absurd chimera, and actually to have entertained the mad belief, that civil freedom, which is an the law, and a Popi s h hi erarc h y, other w or d f or p ro t e ction by whose sim throughout the world is the establishment of a power beyond and above all human law, have or can have any common interest, and cart be or will be served by the same political measures.our Protestant brethren of the Tyroßl.LmTenlimbeesr., Englishmen, In addition to the Chief Baronship of the I ish Court of Exchequer, the ministry over which Lord Melbourne nomi 'des, but which Mr. O'Connell really directs, have 1 1. 11 1tE hief Justiceship of the Court of Queen's Bench to de-the late Chief Justice Bushe having been induced 6 -resign for " i a consideration"—we suppose a peerage. Thus '-'';, L . e.„ p two most important judicial offices in Ireland, next to the ' 74. e' ' ' Lord Chancellorship, have, within a few days,fallen into the pos. lession of the popish ascendancy party, for, of course, Minis- -r~ z ~.. tett ) by virtue of the "compact alliance" at Lichfield House, and as further inducement to the continuing services of the O'Connell faction, mist invest with the robes of those high offices whatever persons the chief of that faction designates as the worthiest candidates for promotion. Indeed some say that the Chief Justiceship of the Queen's Bench is an office which O'Connell has for a long time past had an eye upon for himself. We do not know whether that is so or not, but we do know that the man whose recommendation of others for all sorts of Irish appointments is irresistible with her Ma jesty's Ministers, cannot become a rejected candidate when he recommends himself. Still as long as he can command forty or fifty votes in the House of Commons, indulge his darling' passion for agitation, and collect from the poorest people in the world 15,0001. a-year to gratify his no less darling passion; for pelf, we doubt that even a Chief-Justiceship of the Irish Queen's Bench would tempt him off the stage of turbulent politics into a life of stately dullness and dignified tranquil lity. Already a Roman Catholic—a protege of O'Connell— a man indebted for whatever success he had at the bir to his favour and patrona se—is Master of the Roils in Ireland; another is a Judge of the Queen's Bench ; another a Baron of the Exchequer, the only jurisdiction in Ireland to which the Protestant clergy can look for the recovery of their tithe. If it were not for the firmness of that Court in issuing its writs of rebellion against tithe defaulters—or more properly to describe them, anti-tithe conspirators—the Protestant clergy would be now as they were before those writs of rebellion were resorted to, in a destitute and starving con dition. Let it not be forgotten that the law officers of the Government, the Irish Attorney and Solicitor-General were employed at first to argue against the jurisdiction of the Court of Exchequer-in this matter, and to contend that the only legal process which has proved successful in protecting the property of the Church against a lawless combination was obsolete, and not possessed at the present day, of any legal validity. The Lord Chancellor of Ireland is now an aged man, as arc several of the yet remaining Protestant and constitutional judges. A session or two longer of " clipping and compromising" by the parliamentary conservatives on one side, and tenacious adhe rence to office in spite of the public contempt by the Whig Mi nisters on the other, and the Irish judicial bench will have ef fectually undergone the process of popish epuration, to use a French word very much employed when the Bourbons, soon after their restoration to the throne by the arms of protestant England, were " purifying" the public offices, colleges, and other places of trust and education of those able and intelli gent protestants whose talents the more enlightened Napoleon had availed himself of for the public service. At this moment Lord Mulgrave is performing the process of popish epuration upon the magistracy of Ireland. It is said that no less than 200 protestant magistrates are to be excluded from the com mission under the new arrangement. In the meantime Sir Robert Peel and other leaders of the Conservatives in Par liament take no notice of those doings in Ireland, but propose still further to strengthen the hands of the agitator by ex changing the Protestant Corporations for " normal schools of political agitation !" And this is called a "settlement !" Morning Herald. Mr. Wyse's motion last night in the House of Commons for an" Address to her Majesty that she will he graciously pleased to appoint a Board of Commissioners of Education in England, with a view especially of providing for the wise,. equitable, and efficient application of sums granted or to be granted for the advancement of education, by Parliament, and for the immediate establishment of schools for the edu cation of teachers, in accord with the intention already ex pressed by the Legislature", comes before the attention of the Legislature and the public with the strongest recommen mendation of concurrent circumstances, and, we trust, will have duo weight with the public. From the long and laborious consideration which the Learned Member for Waterford has bestowed upon the great ques tion of national education, his opinions are deserv ing of the most serious attention, and the perusal of his speech last night will not disappoint the ex pectations which the previously distinguished reputa tion of the speaker might justly have excited towards it. The contrast drawn between the state of education in Great Britain, where it averages only as one in fourteen, with that of the Continental States, wherein the average is as one in six, illustrates in a way not more lamentable than nationally disera ceful to the intellectual and moral condition of the po pulation of these realms. Mr. Wyse proposes that the sys tem of education should be conducted in a manner totally distinct from all sectarian influence—that the Government should not have any controul in its management—and that the religious instruction should be left to the option of the parents and guardians of those seeking the assistance of the institution. We regret that the difficulties of carrying these suggestions into effeet were considered by the Government to be at peesent so insuperable, as to induce Lord John Rus sell and Mr. Spring Rice to recommend the withdrawal of the motion. However, as discussion furnishes the best guide to the mode in which these difficulties are to be overcome, the motion of Mr. Wyse has conferred an essential service on the public.—Morning Advertiser. The public must have observed—we trust without any ma terial concern—that the conduct of Sir Robert Peel for some time past, and especially in the course he has taken selith re gard to the Irish Municipal Bill, has completely failed to ob tain even the faintest approbation from those sages of the press who support the present very respectable Administration. They are surprised and almost offended at his perseverance. They cannot understand it. It does not accord with their views of what ought to happen. They would fain persuade him to another mode of proceeding ; and they are so obliging as to resort to every variety of means for this purpose, with the ex ception of argument. One newspaper thunders at him as the insulter of the people of Ireland, and threatens, with the ut most energy of Billingsgate rhetoric, that if he will persevere in " heaping insult" upon that kingdom—that is, in assuming that respectable Roman Catholic inhabitants in towns live in houses really worth ten pounds a-year, and in limiting the ex ercise of Municipal privileges to that class—the wrath of the " intelligent masses" will certainly fall upon his devoted head. Another sage " public instructor," with ex quisite talent for ridicule, calls Sir Robert (with reference to the two divisions on the amount of municipal franchise) " the Napoleon of defeat ;" and a third, with wondrously felicitous variety, both of idea and of phrase, says that he is " the hero of defeat." As Sir Robert Peel is the leader of the Opposi tion, and as these kind remonstrators and critics are (very disinterestedly no doubt 1) exceedingly opposed to the Oppo sition, it seems rather strange that they should be evidently so displeased at what they represent to have happened. If Sir Robert Peel have so insulted Ireland that henceforward the " intelligent masses" even in England will be against him, so much the better for his opponents. They, at all events, have no reason to be sore upon the subject. If his perseverance do in truth bring him nothing but defeat, why should his adversaries so evidently writhe, when seeming to smile at his heroism in this particular Were the representa tions of these adversaries true, and bona fide, we opine that the result would be the utmost satisfaction and good humour on their parts ; but we suspect that their objection to bona fide qualifications is a general one, and holds equally with re spect to their comments upon Sir Robert Peel's proposal in the Irish Municipal Bill, and with regard to that proposal itself. The fine flourish about the Opposition having been defeated by a Ministerial majority of 20 in a full House would some years ago have been totally unintelligible. It was re-, served for the Ministerial leadership of Lord John Russell to discover a victory in outnumbering the Opposition by 20 votes, When people talk with such an air of glee about defeating the Opposition, they seem to forget that not only the natural but the necessary state of an Opposition is that of defeat. It is of the essence of an Opposition (in the British House of Com mons), that it should be outnumbered by the adherents of Government, for when this ceases to happen the party not outnumbered ceases to be an Opposition. It obtains pos session of the Government. When an Opposition comes near to the defeat of the Government it is (qua Opposition) in a much more flourishing condition than the Government, which only escapes from being beaten by a few votes. When the Whigs were in Opposition (we mean while they had yet some character, and were not sold for the lucre of place to the Ro manist faction of Ireland) they considered that to come within 50 of the numbers on the Government side was to be in a very triumphant position. And so it was, for in those days the Government was held by men who felt that, unless under very peculiar circumstances indeed, they were scarcely justified in pursuing any line of policy that had not a majority of at least fifty to sanction it. And yet those were the days in which it is said public opinion was disregarded in the Government of the country ! Perhaps the Whigs consider that at pre sent what they lack as a Government in numerical strength is made up by the superior respectability of those who constitute their small majority; or by the wonderful talents, directorial and oratorical, which at present give forth their lustre from the Treasury bench. It cannot be denied that in the days of Tory ascendancy, when a Government ma jority of 20 would have been looked upon as a Government defeat, the administration could only boast of being supported by an immense preponderance of the representatives of the wealth, both landed and commercial, of the nation, and by the leading persons in rank of the various districts of the kingdom which sent Members to the Imperial Parliament. It is true that the present Ministers are not obliged for their majorities to any such support. So independent are they of this old-fashioned way of succeeding that they boast of carry ing such measures as they do carry, while the majority of the representatives of Great Britain are hostile to them. In stead of being under obligation to the leading gentry of the kingdom for the majority in the House of Commons, they can independently contrive to treat the principles and feelings of that class with contempt, being secure in the noble and disinterested alliance of that highly respectable and accomplished set of gentlemen who are nominated to Parliament by the Romish priests of Ireland. Then as to the Ministerial talent which now presides in the Lower House of Parliament, what wonder that men should be content with the smallest majority when, in addition to that, they have the largest capacity, the elevated views, and the nobly energetic oratory of Lord John Russell, not to mention the bold candour of Mr. Spring Rice, and the vigilant readi ness of Lord Viscount Palmerston ? These are no doubt the things which reconcile Ministerialists to small majorities— which make them think that a majority which is in number not so much as two-thirds of the number of Members holdine place in the Government is, nevertheless, worthy of being considered a triumph—and whi c h l ea d s t h em (i n a ll s i ncer i ty) to i mag i ne Sir on t l i t nu ob i ng to er t Peel face such is a rudely obstinatevictorious party. But, or ludicrously t, b perve rsethisa s i in may, we should e t fear t t h h pe a ef t r, , si hee persevere, ed w rse e o : f e t r thhe ‘ e : o i ni will bnneged,l'lo' doomed ev h ae or to r n e v ae e n r t qt continuedhu a e t e r s r t may contemplation of his strange conduct. Again and again—we promise them—will he afford them their" triumph" (if that they consider it) of leaving the Opposition in a majority of 20. Again and again will Sir Robert Peel expose himself to the arrowy shower of Whig Radical wit, by coming forward at the head of the Conservative gentry of Great Britain who sit in Parliament, and sleowieg that his phalanx is less by twenty - than the united battalions of English Dissenters, Scotch Free thinkers, and Irish Papists, of whom Lord John Russell has the distinguished honour to be the leader in the House of Commons. There have been two divisions already on the qualification clause in the Irish Mun cipal Bill, an , l it would not in the least surprise us if there were two more—nay, we think it probable that there will be ; and we only hope that the O'Connell Government may proceed with the same sort of triumph in this matter that they have already achieved.— Ma; wing Post. OPERATION OF THE NEW MAR- RIAGE ACT. ( From the Donca.ster Gazelle.) Since the Ist of July, 1837, when the provisions of the 6 and 7 Wm. IV. c. 85, came into operation, there have existed in England and Wales, three distinct modes of celebrating marriage. Those who object to the sanction of a religious ceremony may he married by civil contract at the office of the superintending registrar for their district ; secondly, those who desire that the act of marriage should be a religious oh servance, but object to the forms under which it is solemnised in the Church of England, may be married at their own places of worship, by their own minister, and with such forms as they consider impressive and suitable to the occasion, such place of worship being duly licensed ; and lastly, the Act makes no difference whatever in the case of mem bers of the Church of England, who may, consequently, be married as heretofore. The most perfect liberty exists for all ; and a wiser concession could scarcely have been made for the interests of the Church. Some returns, which have been just printed by order of the House of Commons, enable us to exhibit the extent to which the privilege in question has been enjoyed. They can not, however, be regarded as a measure of what may take place in future years. The mass of the English people, so far from being given to change, are the most conservative of any na tion approaching them in civilization, and we have in these returns a proof of the force of custom and habit, and the opi nions which these beget, which are all-powerful throughout the whole frame of society. The number of places in England and Wales licensed for the celebration of marriage, under 6 and 7 William IV. c. 85, was 1,136 on the 9th of May, 1838. In Lincolnshire, 17 places have been licensed ; in Derbyshire, 15 ; in Notting hamshire, 12 ; and in Yorkshire, 99. The number of places of worship licensed up to December 31st was 945. At these 945 places 1,292 marriages had been solemnized between the Ist of July and 31st December. The annual number of marriages in England and Wales may be estimated at 114,118, so that the proportion of marriages at places of worship, not connected with the Established Church, was about 1 in 32. During the same half-year, ending December 31st., 453 marriage contracts were entered into at the offices of superin tending registrars, or about one marriage in every 125 cele brated in England and Wales. In proportion to the density of a district, or the rapid in crease of population within it, has been the alacrity to render the new Marriage Act available. In 219 districts of superin tending registrars, not one marriage had taken place under its provisions ; and these all contain a scattered population. In England and Wales there is one licensed chapel to 50 square miles ; in Lancashire, one to every 13 square miles ; Yorkshire, one to about 60 square miles ; in the four coun• tics of York, Lincoln, Notts, and Derby, one to 72 square miles. In Nottinghamshire, there are only three places in the county at which there are places licensed for the performance of marriage, 9 at Nottingham, 2 at Newark, and 1 at Mansfield. In Yorkshire, out of 99 licensed places, 43 are situated in five places; at Leeds 11, Hull 9, Bradford 9, Halifax 8, and Sheffield 6. In Derbyshire there arc 11 towns or villages for which there have been licenses obtained • and in Lincolnshire 14. In Lan cashire, 100 licences hall been obtained by the 23d of October, 1837, at which date only 45 licences had been obtained for places in Yorkshire. One half of the marriages at the li censed places of worship have taken place in two counties, Lancashire and Middlesex ; or to place the matter in another light, above one-half have been celebrated in 13 districts out of the 453 making a return, viz., London, 235 ; Liverpool, 104 ; Manchester, 73 ; Preston, 41 ; Leeds, 40 ; Ashton under-Lyne, 29 ; Prescott, 28; Birmingham, 24 ; Wigan, 22 ; West Derby, 17 ; Bolton, 17 ; Blackburn, 17 ; Leices ter, 15. In nine places in Lancashire there have been 348 marriages celebrated at the licensed places. The operations have been as follows in this and adjoining counties : At the At Licensed Register's Office. Places of Worship. Total. Notts York Lincoln... 4 Derby 11 Out of the 27 marriages at licensed places in Nottingham shire, 13 were at Nottingham, and 14 at Newark. In Yorkshire, out of 104 marriages, 9 were at Bradford, at Halifax 14, at Hull 4, Pontefract 1, Pocklington 2, Shef field 9. At 135 chapels in Lancashire, about 380 marriages took place ; at 99 in Yorkshire, 104 ; at 17 in Lincolnshire, 8 ; at 15 in Derbyshire, 10 ; at 12 in Nottinghamshire, 27. The total number of marriages celebrated within the half year, may be estimated for Derbyshire at 911, Notts 942, Lincolnshire 1,308, Yorkshire 5,587 ; so that a very small number of individuals have availed themselves of the Act. This and the three adjoining counties contain between 1-6th and 1-7th of the total population of England and Wales ; but the marriages in these counties which were contracted at registrars' offices was only 1-10th of the total number which took place under similar circumstances throughout England ; and the proportion at the registered places was between 1-Bth and 1-9th. There are many grounds which might be pointed out as accounting for this disproportion ; but we will allude at pre] sent only to one, which, on reflection, will be found to contain elements of great influence in such a matter ; and this is, the difference in the relative population per square mile of the above four counties, which is only 208 persons, while for Eng land and Wales the proportion is 240. The population of Yorkshire and Lancashire does not greatly differ, but in den sity that of Lancashire is as 3i to 1. DESTRUCTIVE FlRE.—Between six and seven o'clock Wednesday evening, a most alarming and destructiv e fire broke out in the extensive sugar-house situate in Denmark-street, Ratcliff. highway, and which from the inflammable nature of the stock, at one time threatened destruction to the whole street. The fire appears to have broken out on the fourth floor, which was occasioned, as it is supposed, from the overheating of a stove. A messenger was instantly dispatched to the various fire stations, and in a short time two engines from the station in Wellclose-square, under the direction of Guard, were speedily on the spot, and were rapidly followed by the Wat ling-street, the Farringdon-street, the West of England, the County, and other engines ; altogether, there were fourteen en gines on the spot, the whole of which were at work at one time. A most excellent sum.ly of water was procured, and owing to the exer tions of the firemen, the destructive element was confined to the pre mises. The flames at one period assumed such a power, as to leave great doubts in the minds of the firemen whether the vast building could be saved. Fortunately they succeeded in throwing vast columns of water on the fourth and fifth floors, and thus kept the fire to the spot in which it had originated. Had the fire not been discovered so soon, there is no doubt but the whole place would have been levelled to the ground, as the building was completely full of stock. The insur. ante effected on the premises amounts to several thousands, and con sequently the loss is fully covered. A strong body of the H and K divisions of the police were speedily on the spot, and rendered their utmost aid to the firemen, in stopping the progress of the fire. On Monday afternoon, during a violent thunder storm, the house on a farm in Wrangle Common, in the occupation of Mr. Swain, was struck by the lightning, which entered the roof near the chimney, broke a large hole through the ceiling, just above a part!. tion wall, down the hollow part of which it passed till it reached the floor of the chamber, where it broke out again under the skirting boa rd, and finally passed out of the window, which was open. Providentially the occupiers of the house were at some distance, as the house was much shattered, and quickly filled with smoke and flame. Some people who were fishing in a stream close by gave an alarm, and immediately pro. erected to extinguish the flames, which they shortly succeeded in doing. One of the men, who climbed up into the roof, was so overpowered by the smoke that he fell through the hole in the ceiling whirls the lightning had made, and at first appeared to be dead, but afterwards recovered. A duck whirls was sitting on a nest close to the house, and some rabbits in a place adjoining, were killed on the spot.— Boston Herald. THE MURDER IN THE WATERLOO-ROAD.--The sale of the furniture in the house at Wellington-terrace, where Eliza Grimwood was murdered, took place on Wednesday. There was a great crowd round the door all the morning, although the sale was only an. flounced for one o'clock. Amongst those who obtained admission were several women, and there were a great many outside amongst the disap_ pointed candidates for entrance. Several policemen were stationed at thu street-door, but they had a difficult task to preserve order. The per. sons who went in were well-dressed individuals, but curiosity was evi dently a stronger motive with them than a desire to p urc h ase. The furniture consisted of chairs, sofas, tent bedsteads, mahogany chest of drawers, fee., and which were sold by Mr. Lloyd, auctioneer, of Hatfield-street, Blackfriars road, as stated in the catalogue, " by or der of the administrators of the late Miss Grimwood."" The pro. perty was knocked down for about 641, being a few pounds more than the valueion. After the sale, as the outlet into the Waterloo road was impassable owing to the dense mob, Mr. Lloyd ad v i se d th a t the persons in the house should b e let out at the back. Owing to the exertions of the police, no mischief was do ne. Mr. T. Grimw oo d ad ministered to the property before th e sale, wher eby the auctioneer felt himself authorised to proceed. The p revious ev ening Mr. Wooler, on the part of Hubbard, threatened the administrators and Mr. Lloyd with ( a i n ec action, wer e should not tihne the sa sale, e take place. bu t t h e y havelie bwatcheen d and s SOL Her life was also insured for 3001. in the Norwich Union Life As surance Ccmpany, and she had money in the Savings' Bank. The Se cretary of State for the Home Department has offered a reward of 100/. to any person who will give such information as will lead to the convic tion of the murderer. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.—(From a Church man )---On a review of the proceedings of last General Assembly, it may truly be said that the now ruling party of the Church have appa rently laid aside all regard to the laws and constitution of the Church. They have set themselves in hostile array against the decisions of the Supreme Court, and virtually cast oil' all connection with the State. While, on the other hand, in their enthusiasm for Church-Extension, they have flung to the winds the laws, decisions, and practice of the Church in cases of discipline; especially the Assembly Acts of 1645 and 1647, and the decisions of 1733 and 1747, with respect to the ne cessity of every clergyman receiving testimonials of character from the minister of the parish from whence applicants come for admission to the Sacrament of the Supper, or for the baptism of children. Indeed, the new Churches are the spoiled children of the high party of this Assembly, and to nurse, gratify, and indulge them, seems to be their chief care, though at the expense of the rights and privileges of the old established parochial Churches. We wish them much joy in the venerable and re spectable position in which they have placed themselves in the eyes of an astonished public, and we are sure that the Voluntaries owe to them so deep a debt of gratitude, that henceforth they may slacken their op. position, and let the Church of Scotland destroy herself. —Scotsman. DEATH BY LIGHTNING.—During one of the thunderstorms by which we were visited last week, four labourers were working on the road leading from Sutton Coldtield to Middleton, when suddenly they were all struck to the earth by the electric fluid. Three were only stunned, but the fourth, a man named Ingleby was found lying dead upon the ground, with almost all his clothes stripped from his body and torn in shatters. His watch wee also found Many yards from his body.-- Wokernamplon Chronicle. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 183-1. LAW INTELLIGENCE. (From our Second Edition of last night.) BAIL COURT, JuNE 14. THE BARON DE BODE'S CLAIM. Mr. Justice COLERIDGE gave judgment in this case, which came before the Court on an application by the Baron de Bode for a mandamus call ing upon the Lords of the Treasury to show cause why they refused to admit his claim to compensation. His Lordship, after going through the facts of the case, said he was of opinion that the application ought not to be granted. MIDLAND CIRCUIT. Before the Right Hon. Sir N. C. TINDAL, and the Right Hon. Sir J. B. BOSANQUET. NORT II A MPTON Monday OAKHLSI LINCOLN and CITY NOTTINGHAM and TOWN Thursday July 26 DERBY LuicEsTErtand lioaoticu Wednesday August 1 COVENTRY and ‘VARIVICK Saturday IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, JUNE 14. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. Mr. DUGDA LE brought up the Report on the Rugby and Lutter. worth Road Bill. RAMSGATE IMPROVEMENT BILL. Sir E. KNATCHBULL moved that the Ramsgate Improvement Bill be read a third time. Mr. PEASE wished the Bill to be postponed for a few days, as an important alteration had taken place in it which affected his constituents considerably. The alteration to which he alluded was in Clause 149. In the former Act, authorising improvements in Ramsgate, a clause was inserted to this effect, that the Commissioners were authorised and empowered to collect a cettaiu duty for all coals that were brought into Ramsgate and landed and delivered. But by this clause it was proposed to take the duty on all coals brought into Rams gate whether landed or not.—(Hear, hear.) That made a very important change. The harbour was one of refuge, and extensively used in stress of weather by steamers and others, for taking in coals. It would be very unfair to compel vessels taking refuge in a harbour which had been paid for by the public money, and for which they already paid a very extravagant harbourage, to be taxed in this additional manner. He did not wish to move the recommittal of the Bill, but thought it ought to stand over. Sir E. KNATCHBULL said he supposed the insertion of the word " and" for " or" was what the Hon. Member meant. Mr. PEASE said that would answer the object he had in view. Mr. W. ATT WOOD thought that the Bill should be postponed for a week, in order that several clauses he intended to propose should be printed and circulated, and distributed among the Members of the House. If such an adjournment were not agreed to, he should move that the Bill should be read a third time that day six months. Sir EDWARD KNATCIIBULL said that the promoters of the Bill never intended that coal, which was not landed at Ramsgate, should pay duty, and as he had agreed to the postponement of the Bill till to.morrow, for the purpose of altering the def:ct pointed out by the Honour able Member for Durham, he thought that delay would enable the Hon. Member for Greenwich to introduce his clauses. The Bill had been before Parliament for a long time, and it seas too bad that all the objections to it should be postponed for so late a period. Mr. P. THOMSON agreed in the opinion that it was very incon ♦enient to bring up important clauses upon the third reading of a Bill, but still a case might ariso where it was necessary, and in order to see whether they were so or not, Members must have time to consider them. He thought that an adjournment till Monday would meet the justice of the case. Sir E. KNATCHBULL, after what h2d fallen from the Hon. Gentle. man, could not refuse his consent to an adjournment till Monday. The third reading of the Bill was then adjourned till Monday. METROPOLITAN SUSPENSION BRIDGE. On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON the Report on the Metropo. titan Suspension Bridge was further considered. Captain WENIYSS presented a petition from Fife against the abolition of the Convention of Royal Burghs. CHURCH LEASES. Mr. INGHAM presented a petition from the Lessees of Ecclesiastical Property in South Shields, stating the serious injury the petitioners sus. tained from the agitation of this question in the last Parliament, without any Act having been passed; and referring to the peculiarity of the tenures of leasehold property in the diocese. The peti tioners prayed that in any measure which might pass affecting ecclesiastical property, due protection might be given to their interests. The Hon. Member presented similar petitions from six townships in Durham, and from Wallsend, Northumberland. CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS. Mr. PEASE presented a petition from 119 Churches and Congrega. tions In Leicester, representing 4,500 communicants, praying that capi. tal punishments might be abolished in all cases but those of wilful murder. MEDICAL CHARITIES' BILL Mr. (RATTAN presented a petition from some place in Ireland in favour of the Illedical Charities' Bill. Mr. F. FRENCH observed that several petitions which had been pre. suited in favour of the Bill had been put clown as against the measure. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. Mr. PRII , ZGLE presented a petition from the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, complaining that due provision had not been made for the religious wants of the Scotch settlers in Upper Canada, and other North American provinces. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Mr. Childs, of Bungay, against church rates. Mr. MACKINNON presented a petition praying for the institution of a Gaelic professorship in the College of Aberdeen. Mr. THORNLEY presented a petition, signed by 4SO Negro Appren. tices in Jamaica, stating at great length the evils of the Apprenticeship system, and praying for its immediate abolition. Lord STANLEY presented a petition from the Students of the Univer. city of Edinburgh, praying for an alteration in the regulations of that University. _ _ _ In answer to a question from an Hon. Member, Mr. LABO U C HERE intended to postpone the Pilotage Bill till to-morrow (this day), in order that it might be com mitted pro forma, for the purpose of discussing certain amend ments which he had to propose. Sir W. FOLLETT presented a petition from the ship owners of Exeter against the Pilotage Bill. Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice that he would propose the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Bill to-morrow (this day), before the other Orders of the Day; and if that would be finished by ten o'clock, the House could then resume the con sideration of the Sugar Duties, By this arrangement the Benefices Pluralities Bill could not be brought on, but he thought it would probably be fixed for Monday. He would further suggest to the House the necessity of sitting on Satur day next. Lord DUNGANNON begged to ask the Noble Lord whether the Government had taken any measure lo facilitate the commutation of tithes, as he had stated before Easter would be done ? Lord J. RUSSELL said the measure he then alluded to Was the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to consider the legal points, and that measure had been taken. . - NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. Colonel DAVIE S rose to move the appointment of a Se lect Committee to take into consideration the most eligible site for the two Houses of Parliament. After the burning of the Houses of Parliament, plans were advertised for and sent in by several architects, and on the 9th of February, 1836, a Committee was moved for by the Chancellor of the Exche quer to ascertain the hest. This Committee met, and on the 15th of March Sir J. Hobhouse, the Chairman, brought up the Report, declaring the plan of Mr. Barry to be that adopted. This resolution of the Committee was founded on the supposition that 500,0001. would be the cost of the building supposition grounded on the statement of Mr. Hanbury Tracy, the celebrated amateur architect. The Committee was then re-appointed to examine the expenses of the whole undertaking as estimated by Mr. Barry, and which he had given as 724,0001. Upon that examina tion it was found that no less a difference than 77,3251. was discovered between Mr. Barry's and the actual esti mate. Upon that ground they were under no condi tion bound to Mr. Barry. Then with regard to expense. By a change of site to St. James's Palace, deduct-. ing a sufficient allowance, which would of course be granted to her Majesty for a new suite of apartments, a saving of 450,000/. would be made to the public. The Crown property on the river was 800 feet, which, if applied to commercial purposes, would at least be worth 101. per foot, or 8,0001. a year. Other savings, also taken into account, he could state the total at 542,5731. In the first instance, the sum allowed to her Majesty for a new suite of apartments would he about 76,000/. On these grounds, as well as others which he would not then dwell upon, he hoped a Committee of Inquiry would be allowed him. Mr. MACKINNON begged leave to second the motion. It was astonishing that in a country like England, possessing giant energies when applied to steam-engines or railroad communication, the public edifices should be so unworthy of her hich character. In many instances they displayed bad ta,te, both as regarded site and architecture, and yet there was no country in which there was a greater mass of talent. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the House had fully deliberated upon this question, and it was a matter of surprise to him how any Hon. Member could say the House was taken by surprise upon it, when they recollected the quantity of evidence which they had heard in connection with it. It must be in the recollection of the Hon. Mem bers that in 1834 the fire took place which destroyed the Houses of Parliament. No step could be taken immediately subsequent to that occurrence, but upon the assembling of Par liament in 1835 the Right Hon. Baronet opposite moved for a Committee to inquire into the most judicious steps to be taken with respect to the removal of the inconvenience which arose from it, and the erection of suitable Houses of Parliament. That Committee published a Report, and upon the Report a Commission was instituted, in order to discuss the plans of the projected buildings. Those plans were submitted to the Committee ; they not only were deliberated upon with the most minute and patient attention, but they were laid before the public, and the general opinion was that Mr. Barry's plan was the best calculated with respect to architecture, and in every other respect, to effect the purposes required in the new Houses of Parliament. In his experience he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not remember a plan upon which so great a unity of opinion was observable as that which the plan i of Mr. B arry was rece i ved with by the Com mission, and n other quarters. But the inquiry did not ter minate there. Mr. Barry sen t i n hi s est i mate, and another Committee was appointed to inquire into the amount of the estimate, as it would app ear w h en taken i n its several depart ments separately, and Mr. Barry was directed to make out a new estimate, with all the beads of expenditure stated distinctly in the form of particular items. This estimate thus parti cularized in its heads of outlay, was submitted to the inspection of the principal . officers under th e C omm i ss i oners o f W oo d s and Forests, and it was not until it had received their entire approval, after minute inv est i gat i on, that the House resolved upon adopting it. Nothing could less deserve the observation of taking the House by surprise. Under these circumstances he was of opinion that they should look upon the subject as a matter decided upon, and which it was not now compe tent for them to open again for discussion, in order to make any change in the arrangements. It would be highly danger ous to adopt such a course. Ile could not for a moment con cur in the opinion that a site near the club-houses woold possess greater advantages. The facts lay the other way. lie trusted the House would not adopt such a course as that sug gested by the lion. Member. Mr. II UME was of opi,ien that there•wcre other sites in London which possessed incalculable advantages over the site which had been approved of. One of those was opposite Marlborough House, a site which, bath with regard to heath fulness of situation and to the advantage it would afford of appreciating the beauties of the architecture, was immeasur ably superior to the present one. The site upon which it was proposed to erect the New Houses of Parliament was in many respects deficient in those requisites which it should possess; it was too near the river, upon which it encroached to such an extent as to blockade two or three arches of West. minster Bridge; this in itself was a serious inconvenience. That it was so blocked up by the buildings at the land side that its beauties would all be lost ; and in order to obtain a view of it a person should go into a boat on the river. —( Laughter. ) Its situation was so low that it could not be Lealthy, and from those combined objections he was inclined to think it ought to be changed. He should totally deny that the change of the situation was one involving tham in ad ditional expense. At all events, they ought to obtain a situa tion where daylight could be obtained as long as possible, and not willingly incur so serious and so lasting an inconvenience. Hon. Members were beginning to see this, at least all those who had spoken to him on the subject agreed with him, which certainly indicated a great change, unless it happened that all those who concurred with him in opinion took occasion to speak with him upon the subject.—(Laughter.) He cUd not object to the plan, but to the site. Sir R. PEEL said the Hon. Member for Kilkenny ap- , peered to labour under a misunderstanding when he expressed an objection to the plan but not to the site. If he objected to one he should object also to the other. The principal claim of the plan was its adaptation to the size, and it did not follow that if a new site were to be adopted the same plan would be appropriate. The Honourable Member remarked that in consequence of the contiguity of the River there would be a great want of light in the new Houses of Par liament. Now, the sequel was not at all a necessary conse quence of that position.—( Laughter.) He (Sir R. Peel) could assure the Hon. Gentleman that one of the greatest ad vantages which houses abutting on the River possessed was the superior light which such a situation afforded.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) That ground of objection was, therefore, entirely useless. He would implore the Hon. Gentleman not to persist with his Hon. Friend in the course they had adopted —he intreated him that they might not have a Penelope at each side of the House, ready to undo all the acts of the House as quickly as they could perform them.—( Laughter.) The Hon. Gentleman had said that several Members had ex pressed to him their disapproval of the site chosen for the pro jected edifice. He (Sir R. Peel) was strongly inclined to think that those lion. Gentlemen had been hoaxing the Hon. Member, for the purpose of obtaining his vote upon some other question where his views did not entirely accord with those which they held.—( Much laughter.) Sir F. TRENCH fully coincided in opinion with the Right Hon. Baronet. In his opinion it would be better to have the House built upon the adopted site than in the neighbourhood of the Clubs ; the exercise of coming to the House, and re turning home, would be far more healthful to Hon. Members than if the House, by being near the Clubs, would permit them to be too much at their case; a walk home would be far more beneficial to them. Sir H. HARDINGE said that it appeared the foundation of the Houses of Parliament would encroach very much upon the River, and therefore it was essentially necessary that every precaution which would have the effect of rendering it more secure should be adopted. At Woolwich, when they laid the foundation of the public-works, the foundations of which were similarly situated, it was thought they had been sufficiently secured, but they had since given way, and sunk considerably. Colonel WOOD had been informed that the situation chosen for the foundation was a quicksand. If such were found to be the case they would require additional precautions. He un derstood that since the coffer dam had been formed, the greater rush of water against the Westminster-bridge had worn away the gravel from the lower part of the piers, and thus rendered them more insecure. The piers of Westminster-bridge had been cased with timber, and sunk in that situation so that if the gravel should be worn away to a much greater extent it might prove highly injurious to the bridge. Mr. WARBURTON had built upon his property at :the other side of the water a very high tower, and of a greater height than any part of the intended buildings would be, and although it was quite close to the water it had not up to this time varied an inch from its perpendicular, so effective were the means of security adopted by the architect. Sir G. STRICKLAND thought a better site and a better plan might be adopted. By the present situation the appear ance of that beautiful edifice Westminster Abbey would be destroyed. They might adopt some approved classic model for the building instead of a combination of two or three orders. Colonel DAVIES said it would be a saving to the country of 450,0001. should his plan be adopted. The CHANCELLOR of the gXCElEQUEßsaid . there need not exist any apprehension with respect to the security of the foundation. The House then divided, when there appeared-- F or the motion 33 Against it 9O Majority NATIONAL EDUCATION. Mr. NV YSE presented several petitions from Liverpool, signed by 7,000 persons ; from Preston ; and from various other places in the County Palatine of Lancaster, in favour of a system of National Education. The lion. Member then brought forward his motion for " An Address to her Majesty, that she will be graciously pleased to appoint a Board of Com missioners of Education in England, with the view especially of providing for the wise, equitable, and efficient application of sums granted, or to be granted, for the advancement of education by Parliament, and for the immediate establishment of schools for the education of teachers in accord with the in tention already expressed by the Legislature." A strongly marked change had taken place in the public feeling respect ing education within a very few years. Last year there were not above 800 names to petitions in favour of a national sys tem. This year the signatures to petitions to the same gene ral effect amounted to 15,000 in favour of a particular system, and 36,000 in favour of a national system. If these numbers were taken in comparison with those appended to petitions on other interesting and popular subjects before the House a good index might be found to ascertain the state of public feeling respecting education. The petition for the abolition of the Corn Laws contained only 10,000, those respecting Irish tithes 42,000, and those against negro apprenticeship nearly the same, while those in favour of the Irish Municipal Corpora tions, an alteration of the postage-rates, the Lord's Day Bill, and the Canada question, fell far short of that number. There had been large meetings on the subject in various parts of England, but especially in those great towns of the North, the seat at once of our manufactures and our intelligence, in Bolton, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester, and the anxious desire of all present was for the establishment of a system of national education. In furtherance of that object Societies had been established under different names, and mi nute inquiries were set on foot by these bodies to ascertain the exact state of intelligence in the country, and to stimulate each portion of it into a generous emulation with each other on that important subject. Then, again, a few years ago, the press was wholly closed to anything like observation on the state of education, with the exception of a few of the graver quarterly publications, when it was treated as a matter of meta physics or theology more than as a matter of general interest; now, however, there was scarcely a periodical of any class which did not advocate the diffusion of intelligence in some form or other among the mass of the population. In proof of the rapid progress Vie question of education had made among the poorer classes he could assure the House that there was never a meeting of workmen in large numbers—nay, they never met two or three in a body that it did not form an engrossing topic of their conversation. Even the Legislature—so much behind public opinion in all cases, and the Government, generally so much behind the Legislature, had changed their views on the subject, and now entertained the question as one necessary to the welfare of the community. A few years since he ( Mr. Wyse) could scarce find a seconder for his motion respecting education ; now the estimates included an annual grant for its promotion, and he (Mr. Wyse) had read with great pleasure an appeal of the Noble Lord the Secretary of State for the Home Department to his constituents, in which the advisable ness of general education was enforced in the most admirable manner, He (Mr. Wyse) thought it was necessary that edu cation should be equally promulgated among all classes, other wise the lower class..s would march past the higher, and the masses advance while the rich and the few stood still. Refe rence had been more than once made to the state of crime in comparison with the state of education, and in France parti cularly deductions had been made averse to the extension of intelligence among the community; but he (Mr. Wyse) was fully satisfied that these deductions, founded on false or im perf, et returns, were radically false and imperfect themselves. By more recent returns, compiled with greater accuracy, it appeared that, of those who were brought before the crimi nal ti ibunals of that country in 1837, there were, of both sexes— Unable to read and write ...... 8,464 Who read and wrote imperfectly... 12,299 Who read and wrote well ... 2,235 Who had a superior education lOl Thus showing that a superior education WRS found to check in a powerful manner, rather than promote in the slightest degree, a tendency to commit crime. Various decisive p roo f s b es id es this could could be produced of the effects of a good education in preventing crime and extinguishing a tendency to it. In regard to the extension of education among all classes of the community, England was at that moment the lowest on the list of all countries calling themselves civilized. The result of all inquiries made on the subject was, that of children between the ages of seven and fourteen, amounting in sill to two mil lions and upwards, there were at least one-half that number in England and Wales totally uneducated; while if those be tween three and seven years of age were taken, half a million more might fairly be added t o th e account. In that case t k e proportion of educated to uneducated would be as I to 14. Now, in America the proportion was, in the State of New York, as I to 3 ; in the state of Massachuetts it was as 1 t o 4 ; in S.vitzcrland, generally, as I to 7, while in the can ton of Vaud it was I to 6 ; in Prussia as I to 6 ; in Wur temberg as 1 to 6 ; in Bavaria as 1 to 6 ; in Holland as 1 to 9; i n B e lgium as 1 to II ; in Austria as I to 12 ; in France as 1 to 16 ; and in Russia, throwing tl:c serfs out of the calculation, as 1 to 6. Thus it was plain that all other countries, with the exception of France, surpassed England. There was no extension of schools, no extension of what was still more desirable, instruction, in the higher branches of education. By reports brought before societies and private individuals it appeared that considerably more than half the education of the kingdom was conducted by means of Sunday schools, and yet Sunday schools, in addition to being only the one-seventh of an education, as being only one day in the seven, taught neither reading nor writing in many instances, never taught arithmetic at all, and confined themselves solely to religious instruction, which, though most valuable in itself, still was not all the instruction necessary. Indeed, according to the testimony of the Rev. Mr. Burgess, " t 1.57 were, after all, of comparatively little importance fur the purpo.w. or es supplying the place of anything worthy the name of education." Again, day-schools were not in a much better conditio.:, for, if the Statistical returns were deserving of any credit, tcle teachers were bad, and there were scarcely any books to ca "ry on the business of instruction. England was the only c oantry ut Europe in which there was to be found no Board of public in struction in connection with the Government. She formed a most singular anomaly. amongst the civilised countries of Europe. The British Government had already recognised the principle of interference in education. It now gave 20,000/. a year, a sum totally incompetent to affect a change for the better in national education. They have granted 40,000/• a year to the Kildare-street Schools, and formerly a million and a half, to the Charter Schools, where a question of proselytism was afloat. By a strange anomaly the management ef the na tional education of England was entrusted to the 'Treasury, which had already au encyclopaedia of duties to perfo.rm• He called their attention to the disgusting exhibition of fanatical ignorance which had recently occurred in Kent, and A A!iur`l' d the House that the inspectors of the Society for the Diflosion of Knowledge had ascertained on the spot that the outrat;os had not been caused by want, but ignorance; these peoPh; were earning two shillings a day, but they had no schools atm' no amusements, and they appeared to have only one book , the which, in the absence of others, only served as food' for their fanaticism. He implored the House to do some re deeming act, like that which he proposed, to rescue its cha racter from the disgrace which it had fallen into from the series of rri e a'de contentions with which it had been engrossed this session. Mr. HUME, in seconding the motion, observed, that after the able statement of his Hon. Friend who had just sat downr - it was not his intention to occupy the time of the House fur ther than while he bii2lly called its attention to twcr docu ments which bore strongly on the subject before it. The firs t of these was a Report made by the Grand Jury at the las t Durham Assizes, in which they expressed their deep regret; as the lamentable want of instruction amongst those who or° convicted of offences, and also at the general want of instruc tion amongst the working people. The Grand Jury, he said, are also desirous of expressing their strong regret at the lamentable want of instruction which so evidently Pre vails among those convicted of crime, as well as their earnest hope that the Legislature will adopt such measure;_ as their wisdom may suggest, not only for the instructi on midi moral reformation of juvenile offenders, but for the more gene' rsl education of the working classes. To such an extent did this ignorance prevail, that he believed every Grand Jury in t he cctrtry might with truth make a similar report. A se cond document to which he would refer was lilt from a gra nd jury, but from a society of working men in the metropoliSr who in their humble station, and from out of their Fon t y esrnings, were endeavouring to impart to others the advantages of education They said," Is it co.fF,istent wi h justice. that ru t : knowledge requisite to make a man acquainted with hi s ri g hts and duties should be purposely withheld from him, and ti: en tt'ef he should be upbraided and deprived of his rights on the P2e3,4°, his ignorance ? And is it not equally cruel and unjust to aut..„' human beings to be maturedin ignorance and crime, and theo w blame and punish them ? Let our rulers ask themselves; when they see our prisons filled with victims, our land coverec.; with paupers, and our streets infested with intemperance an prostitutionow much of those terrible evils are occasi one ' by ignorance, the consequences of their own negleeo? and how many of their sanguinary laws might have bee spared—how many of their prisons, bridewells, and pitals dispensed with—and how many millions of publ i '; and private wealth, arrogantly given, and ungracious.•;l received, might not have been better appropriate d I diffusing the blessings of education ? We are certain that inquiry will convince them of th e f ac t, a nd lead brut ° , 1 3 to perceive, that knowledge, like the balmy breeze, cheer refreshes in its progress ; but ig nora nc e , lik e the tai ll 'i c t s air, scourges with disease as it sweeps onward i" desolation. We trust Ws have, in some degree , s ; u „, ceeded in showing the groat importance of educa t ' — ii and the necessity of publicly extending it, not al f. e charity, but as a right derivable from society its x e i tS Now he would ask when these poor men made such en ° o with their small means, was it not incumbent upon the GO , ment and the Legislature to apply some of the funds n' country to promote what ought to be considered a ea ti°" oo concern ? The body of men to whom he referred asked in of their statements whether it was not injustice to keeP ri , re il : v in ignorance, and then punish them for that ignorance ? 1' o f then proeeeded to point out some of the general evil effects. ignorance, and they concluded by calling on Parliament to icict. terfere to check it by encouraging public instruction• H e o t sincerely hope that the Government would take t his impor t matter into its own hands. Mr. COLQU HO UN would be happy to support a vete not a large grant for the purpose of education ; but would sanction the appointment of a Board composed of the rePtre,.., sentatives of all the various sects of religion in the cone Jo. It would be impossible that a Board so composed could o _ 4 accord in any measure or system combining education itaiucs; religious instruction. The only way to avoid the difficu l that surrounded the subject would be either to lay aside , ligion altogether from a system of education, or else to unkt,tea as the Government had done, the members of the Es tablish Church with the leading Dissenters, and have both repre sented by the acting Board. Mr. SI, ANE Y said that the Hon. Member who had just sat down had altogether mistaken the proposition of his Hon , Friend (Mr. Wyse). The proposal was that with regard to the expenditure of grants made by Government there should be a Board constituted to see that those grants were applied as the Government intended. He thought no system of educa tion could be useful or effective that was not ground id upon religion. He did not, however, understand 11 ' 5 . Honourable Friend to disagree from the principle, 1) , 11 ` quite the reverse—to have distinctly approved of i t. The Hon. Member then enumerated several large towns ill which only one person in 31 was educated, and asked if lio. Members were acting up to the religion they professed if the/ would not mete out to the children of others that which thels wished for their own. In Manchester 1 4 , 0001 . a year w expended in giving a bad sort of education t o /7,v.0030 n children, whilst 18,000/. a year would give the best descripteiat of education to 25,000. Again, in Liverpool, 13,0001. 111,en was expended in badly educating 11,000 children, " to 20,500/. a-year would give the best sort of instrucfio n doint 15,000 children.—( Hear, hear.) Were they, the n, l a d their duty to those poor persons? He maintained they,..s, not done their duty for many centuries to the lower able to The Hon. Member hoped that if Government were not a bl e e r : o establish a Board of Education at present, that at all c _ t he they would give the House a pledge that they would take subject into their serious consideration.—( Cheers.) a of Mr. CLAY said that th e H ouse m i g ht f or m some i d e a t he. the want of education th a t p reva il e d, f rom th e fact tha t hoo d, parish of Bethnal Green, in their immediate neighb our there were at least 11,000 children without any education all. Mr.( Hear, hea.) uch HAWES r said the children of Dissenters wer e as reno.. entitled to education out of money raised by the gene ral f t the tion of the country as were th e child re n of members general Established Church.—( Hear.) He wished to see all e placed upon an equaliti in this respect. i s e Mr. BAINES said that the number of Sunday sch° ° ,' ; -- , - c d longing to Dissenters, instead of being 4,000, was he he,".:. to 6,000, and he thought it right to mention the fact, i n oro; nrr . prevent any one from being misled on the subject. T he w as granted by the Treasury for the purposes of education 20,0001., and this fund, he must say, Is p •a ' s most unequallYs`to-j. trluted. Of it the schools connected with the Church received 10,0001., while the other 10,000/. w'r, ,, g w as to the schools of all other religious denominations. " ht one of those who thought that the subject of education "ur,ht to be attended to by the State ; and whatever weig h , x ',. l tc be attached to the opinions of Lord Brougham in otn e.. spects, sure he was that with reference to education they were entitled to the utmost possible credit. Lord Brous lea d he done much for the cause of education for not only had brought to light funds that had been misapplied, but ` le • c rendered it impossible that abuses of a similar kind coul d a 4?1 5 ,c in future with respect to the application of these f o nds. t it. , views of Lord Brougham, therefore, were entitled. to th e most weight. • , a lly Sir R. INGLIS said that what he rose for prin":ll,o„,!4 Establi.inven was to say, that, whatever the merits of Lotd Drab, i t ' t he opinions might be in other respects, his view %vas 6° o' education of the children of England should be,, o at. milted to the hands of the clergy of the Established CL' 6, be —(" Hear, hea , ," from Lord John Russell.) In 11 neon on believed, Lord Brougham made a most elaborate scat `,leech he this question of education, and the great result at 0411100.1 arrived was that the education of the people ought to be P cb. ,. under the direction of the clergy of the Established OW 0 0 n. ( Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Leeds and o ther 0 4 0 Gentlemen had talked of sects, and seemed to s u ilVtilish ed the Church of England had ceased to exist as an qnr , g. Church ; but he could tell them that they little (year.) strength of that Church and their own wea knes their P r " - the It had been attempted " to frighten them i f r h ° , -e ; - n said t hat priety" by a display of numbers, and it ) ta d - oc the ground what the Dissenters demanded they mus t hav e ' 0 to nu" of numbers. The argument, however, with referenc s nu n "of arith.- hers had been tested by the application of the r- f e ar as nun" tactic, and what was the result ? Why, that, as i n talk bars were concerned, the Dissenters were not justinu , r bor.) ing of the Church of England as a mere sect.--(1-LaL'ad 0 00 - It was true that the Honourable Gentlemen oppositeutu, he mus t plimented the Church of England on its wealth, b the first claim for that Church the right to be considered as fro nt estate of the realm.—( Cries of " Question. ques' iw oo pro the Ministerial benches.) He certainly s hould °Pr ° position of the Hon. Member for Waterfeid. .er on RUSSELL said that the principle , 11 " wel /the whi c h the Tr asury had proceeled in the distributione, funds placed at their disposal was very different from.01(00/, which they were presumed to act, for solar from giving 1 ,,, e jns to one party and 10,0001. to another,without reference to. Lice of the claim of either, the only object which they bact o '!_,,,c in the manner in which they distributed the funds was t ;0 . the greats st quantity of education which it was possible to cb r ta . ' ne The mode in which they proceeded was this, that wherevteo: o f amount of money subscribed was largest they gave a poriii the grant, and they did this on the obvious principle t t a o be such means the greatest number of schools were likely .11 , bo established, and of course the greatest quantity of g ood i t ' tbo cause of education effected. Suppose, far instance, th' co ot Treasury had 5,000/. to apply to this purpose and that of 10,000/. were subscribed, they deemed it more ethos: i ila that 15,000/. should be applied for education than they sl'._ ns ,„ give the 5,000/. where only 5,000/. had be en subscribed, 1" much as 10,000/. was not capable of accomplishing quantity of educati.m as 15,0001.—( Hear, hear.) TileY., a nds sidered it to he their duty to apply the money in their I.a.!_ st in the way which was most likely to produce the greatest amo unt of benefit, and had they adopted any other principle the rcsl.l:if would not have been so satisfactory. In 18133 the number ~d schools for which money had bei'n ;panted by tho Treasury v"' so largcoe;